Not Good Enough
by DeltaCharlie87
Summary: One shot A bit of slice-of-life for Takeru and Hikari


**Not Good Enough**

"Okay I know that if I continue the content, all you will think about this lesson is your exam, so I'll return your marks now." Mr Watanabe said, receiving murmurs of relief and nervousness. "Remember this is your second last year of high school. Those who are slacking, not my problem. If you want to go to college though, and if you haven't put in the effort yet, get on it. Alright. These are in no particular order."

Takeru waited anxiously for his name to be called, resting his chin on his left knuckle. In his mind he was desperately repeating a prayer for a good mark. Mathematics was never his strong suit but doing extension mathematics would give him extra credit for university admission. Given that he didn't really know what he wanted to do, options were important. His head followed his teacher as he walked around handing out papers.

"Ichiro Soma." Takeru watched as his seatmate and friend received his paper. He snuck a sideward glance towards his right so as to not appear too nosy. _96%_.

"So what'd you get?"

Ichiro showed Takeru his paper. "I lost some pretty dumb marks here. I could have gotten 99% I reckon."

"Good work man." He tried to be happy for his friend but he couldn't help but be somewhat jealous. He knew he was nowhere near as good as his fellow Writing Club member. _Come on Takaishi, you've fought giant monsters multiple times before, saved the world multiple times before. It's just a maths paper._ It had been three years since Ordinemon, and the resulting peace had made Takeru almost forget the adrenaline pump.

"Takeru Takaishi." Takeru stuck his hand up to signal to his teacher. Receiving it face down, he threw it onto his desk.

_Alright. Here goes nothing._

He lifted one corner slowly, and his heart stopped for a moment. _77%_. Takeru tried to remain calm despite his heart racing.

"So how'd you go?" Takeru turned to Ichiro, putting on the smile he used for show so often.

"85%." He lied once he made sure Mr Watanabe was out of earshot. "Better than I expected honestly."

"Good work." Ichiro turned away from him, giving Takeru the opportunity to shove the paper in his bag before anyone found out.

"Alright the lowest mark in the class for 77%. Two of you got that. You know who you are. If you are serious about this course, you'd better speed things up. Now, let's continue on."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

For everyone else the lunch bell was a saving grace. For him, it was a reality check. Takeru managed to put his mark at the back of his mind for the remainder of the lesson, but it was only a temporary relief.

"Takeru, you gonna play ball with us today?" Eita, his former teammate from elementary school.

"Nah, I got some things I need to take care of." Waving goodbye to his friends, he grabbed his schoolbag and folder and just left the classroom. He didn't really have an idea where he was going, he just needed some time alone.

In an effort to avoid seeing anyone he knew from other classes (he really wasn't in the mood), he quickened his pace as he turned the corner, almost bumping straight into-

_Hikari._

"Well hello stranger, where are you off to in such a hurry?" Hikari looked at him with that kind, gentle smile he has been so familiar with.

"Uh, I-I was just going for a walk. That's all." Takeru watched as his best friend raised an eyebrow at him. Takeru desperately searched for a different conversation point. He spotted a paper in Hikari's hands. _Yes, that's it._ "Hey what's that?" he asked as normal as he could sound.

Hikari seemed to soften a bit. "My chem paper."

Takeru kicked himself. _I really don't want to talk about grades right now._

"Well uh, how-how did you go?"

"84%."

"Oh."

"Yeah you've always been at the sciences than me. I'm not too bummed about it." Hikari's statement seemed to be genuine, smiling as she pushed a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Hey weren't you supposed to get your math exam back today?"

_Dammit._

"My math paper? It's kind of-"

"Hello there." Miss Bando, their guidance counsellor walked up to them. "How are you, Miss Yagami, Mr Takaishi?"

"Doing well. How are you?" Hikari replied.

"Good thanks. Oh I am working on reference sheets for you guys after school. I will hand them out later this week but you have an idea what you want to do in the future, right?"

Takeru and Hikari both gave a halfhearted response.

"Well I'll see you around, I have a meeting with the headmaster."

"Goodbye Miss."

"Bye Miss."

Takeru stared down the hallway. "Our future, huh?"

"I've been giving early education a thought." Hikari said softly also looking down the hallway.

Takeru spun around to her. "A teacher?"

Hikari glanced up at him. "You don't think I'd be a good teacher?"

"No that's not what I meant. I mean you've always been good with kids. And the baby Digimon. You'd be a great teacher, Hikari." Takeru smiled at her, a genuine smile that he reserved for very few people.

"Thank you." _A pause_. "So what happened with your maths exam?"

Takeru didn't bother. "How'd you know?"

"Well I've known you for ten years now so I know when something is bothering you, _and_ you've never been great at maths. So what'd you get? 85? 83?"

"77."

Hikari's faced dropped. "Oh."

"What did you get?"

Hikari hesitated. "100%."

Takeru smiled, "Of course you did. I'm fine. It's not that big of a deal."

Hikari leaned in closer to him, putting her hands on the shoulder of Takeru's blue blazer.

"It's a big deal for you, I get it. I'm always here for you." Her serious expression gave way to another smile. "Especially if you need tutoring."

Both of them laughed. "Then I'll tutor you in chemistry." Takeru said.

"Deal."

"I guess I just thought- I guess I just thought I didn't do good enough, that-"

"Takeru Takaishi, never say that. Ever." Hikari pouted a little, in that adorable way that always made Takeru soar.

She leaned in closer to him, planting her lips on his left cheek. The scent of her vanilla-scented perfume and shampoo filled his senses. "Even if everyone doesn't think so, you will always be good enough for me. Understood?"

Takeru smiled, his face reddening. Leaning down, and holding her arms in his hands, he kissed her. He felt her return the favour. "Understood."

"Dinner tonight?"

"It's a date."

**Hey guys, just a short one from me this time. This story was a bit of personal venting, and is kind of based off one of my real-life experiences, just dramaticised. Thank you so much for reading.**


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